S tories filmed, acted and told and a harvest’s worth of cider, cocktails, champagne and beer keep us enlightened and warm even as the days grow dark and cold.

Monday, November 12
On the heels of Veterans Day, local photographer and documentarian Ed Gendron’s Playing Soldier (2017) screens at Best Video (1842 Whitney Ave, Hamden; 203-287-9286). The film “follows the exploits of six people who reenact WWII,” including Charles, a “retired policeman who… discovers reenacting and uses it to alleviate his job-related PTSD,” and Edward, “a Southern history addict” who’s “collected an extravagant, almost absurd, amount of uniforms, weapons and models.” There’s also a married couple who habitually portray Nazis and even “attempt to engage spectators in empathizing with the German perspective on the war,” as well as a pair of photographers with whom the couple clashes. All told, organizers say, it’s not just “an intimate look into a small, yet significant, American subculture” but also an examination of “personal dramas that… are echoed on a national scale.” $5 suggested donation.

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Tuesday, November 13
As is its custom, Leitner Observatory (355 Prospect St, New Haven; 203-432-3000) is showing a planetarium show—Dynamic Earth: Exploring Earth’s Climate Engine, which “follows a trail of energy that flows from the Sun into the interlocking systems that shape our climate”—at 6 p.m. Then, at 7 p.m., it’s shaking things up with a “special public lecture” by Yale Astronomy postdoc Christopher Spaulding. The talk is titled “Upside-down, Inside-out Solar Systems: the Weirdest Worlds within the Cosmos” and, weather permitting, is to be followed by a public observation session using Leitner’s telescopes.

Wednesday, November 14
Seasonal drinks, anyone? From 4 p.m. to midnight, The Beer Collective (130 Court St, New Haven; 203-507-2602) is serving “unique Connecticut ciders” with cider makers on hand. Meanwhile, from 5 to midnight, Elm City Social (266 College St, New Haven; 475-441-7436) is hosting a Fall Spice & Everything Spiked party featuring “pumpkin spice, cinnamon [and] nutmeg”-infused cocktails, with 10% of proceeds going to local childcare nonprofit All Our Kin.

Thursday, November 15
At Yale Cabaret (217 Park St, New Haven; 203-432-1566) this weekend, it’s all about It’s Not About My Mother, “a bittersweet memory play about coming to terms with the death of a person you might not entirely miss.” Here’s a little more: “After their mother’s funeral, two half-sisters reunite in their family basement to begin clearing out her house. Unpacking pretty clothes and bitter memories, Midge and Nancy confront the aftershocks of a troubled childhood…” Staging at 8 p.m. today, 8 and 11 p.m. Friday and 8 and 11 p.m. Saturday, tickets cost $25, with discounts for students and Yale faculty/staff and pre-show dinner reservations available.

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Friday, November 16
After a champagne preview party last night from 6 to 8—when $35 advance tickets ($40 at the door) let you “sip some bubbly, nibble on hors d’oeuvres” and beat the impending rush—Trinity Church on the Green’s annual Christmas Market, formerly known as the Holiday Bazaar, welcomes the general public. Open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and tomorrow and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., visitors can purchase a dizzying array of holiday gifts, decorations and cookies via homemade sections (including crafts and knits), a tag sale portion and a historically well-stocked silent auction. 230 Temple Street, New Haven. (203) 624-3101.

The next film in the Friday Movie Matinee series at Ives Main Library (133 Elm St, New Haven; 203-946-8130) is Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958). Screening at 2 p.m., “the film stars James Stewart as former police detective John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson,” who’s been “forced into early retirement because an incident in the line of duty has caused him to develop acrophobia (an extreme fear of heights) and vertigo (a false sense of rotational movement).” Then he’s hired as a private investigator, and things really begin to spin. Free.

Saturday, November 17
Featuring more than 30 announced breweries, with about half in-state, the fourth annual Elm City Brew Festival happens at College Street Music Hall (238 College St, New Haven; 203-867-2000) from 1 to 5 p.m. “Craft beer aficionados will be able to sample many of the nearly 225 brews showcased,” organizers say, “while discussing beer with the brewers and reps.” Also, “popular, casual food offerings will be available.” Advance tickets cost $45, while a VIP option, which offers an earlier noontime entry, costs $60.

From 6 p.m. this evening to 10 a.m. tomorrow, the Peabody Museum of Natural History (170 Whitney Ave, New Haven; 203-432-8987) is hosting a Dino-Snore Sleepover—a family-oriented “night under the dinosaurs” involving “a scavenger hunt, fun natural history activities, hands-on specimens and fantastic snacks” as well as a continental breakfast in the morning. Tickets cost $55 or $49.50 for museum members.

Sunday, November 18
The Yale Center for British Art (1080 Chapel St, New Haven; 203-432-2800) invites visitors to “explore the myths and folktale traditions of the British Isles with the professional storyteller Tom Lee.” The final installment of a program series called “Myths and Folktales from Great Britain: Dragons, Kings and Standing Stones,” where Lee uses objects in the museum’s collection as a “touchstone to connect listeners with the ancient oral traditions of England, Scotland or Wales,” the storytelling session begins at 3 p.m. Free.

Written by Dan Mims. Image is a cropped still of Kim Novak in Vertigo (1958). Readers are encouraged to verify times, locations and prices before attending events.

About Dan Mims

Dan has worked for a couple of major media companies, but he likes Daily Nutmeg best. As DN’s editor, he writes, photographs, edits and otherwise shepherds ideas into fully realized feature stories, helped very much by a small team of dedicated contributors.